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12 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E VO L . X X X I I N O. X I X F rom the opening notes of "Oh say can you see…" to the "home of the brave" finale at the home of the Portland Sea Dogs, American Sign Language interpreter Roxanne Baker did her utmost to bring the national anthem to life for deaf baseball fans like herself. While Baker couldn't hear Aretha Franklin's soulful recording playing over the public address system, she was taking visual cues from another interpreter to nail the pacing. "I was not signing word for word," Baker explains later. "In ASL, you often need to reorganize the language to convey the meaning, emotion and spirit of the story rather than provide a literal translation." Infusing her performance with grand gestures, Baker pointed to the billowing flag while soaking in the pre-game atmosphere, cheered on by her partner, family members, college friends from out of town and fellow deaf community members watching from the stands. "It was a very intimate, deeply connected and meaningful experi- ence," she says. Baker took the stage at this year's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Night as the Sea Dogs carried on a tradition that started in 2024, months after the state's deadliest mass shoot- ing, in Lewiston. Four deaf friends who gathered to play cornhole that fateful Wednesday night were among the 18 people killed. At home in the ballpark Beyond the annual Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Night, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox has made physical modifications at its 32-year-old ballpark to ensure that "every fan that wants to be here can get here," says Sea Dogs General Manager Jesse Scaglion. at includes reserved handicapped parking in front of the ballpark's main entrance and the installation of two accessible elevators in 2023. The whole motto of Minor League Baseball is accessibility. — Jesse Scaglion Portland Sea Dogs P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Roxanne Baker conveys emotion and spirit in giving a sign-language version of the national anthem on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Night at Hadlock Field. Sign of the times Portland Sea Dogs aim to improve ballpark access for all fans B Y R E N E E C O R D E S